Energy Systems Catapult welcomes the opportunity to respond to this Department for Energy Security and Net Zero consultation on improving the energy performance of privately rented homes: 2025 update.

Key points:

• The Catapult supports the government’s proposals to increase the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) to EPC C from 2030. This would stimulate the market for home energy improvements in the private rental sector, providing incentives for innovation.
• MEES should focus on the outcomes that improvements deliver and therefore EPCs should be reformed to provide outcome-based metrics. The Catapult suggests that the key metrics should be Energy Use (excluding microgeneration), Climate Impact, and Energy Cost. The Catapult agrees that the cost cap should be increased to reflect the greater investment needed to upgrade homes to EPC C. Instead of introducing additional exemptions, the government should focus on ensuring that support and advice is available to enable all privately rental properties to be upgraded.
• Alongside the introduction of the landlords register, the government should develop a database of digital building passports for all properties to improve access to data on the energy performance of properties and ensure that EPCs can be efficiently updated when relevant changes are made to the property.